How Can We Assess the Nature and the Effectiveness of Informal Political Processes?

Informal political processes like polls, petitions and protests have become easier to organize in the social media age. In this video, STEPHAN LAUERMANN explores both the nature of these processes and how we can assess their effectiveness. Using game theory to analyze three dimensions of participants’ motives for taking part in informal political processes, Lauermann finds that where participation involves costs, this can aid credibility and thereby help to make a process more effective. With evident implications for social media, Lauermann’s research further demonstrates that small fundamental changes can significantly alter the nature of polls, petitions and protests rendering them difficult to predict and, potentially, very powerful.